The inner circle

Richard Ferrand — A Socialist lawmaker who steered Macron’s flagship deregulation bill through Parliament in 2015, he was one of the first parliamentarians to join the young centrist’s movement. The 54-year-old is now Macron’s No. 2 at En Marche! He is tipped as a possible prime minister.

Sylvie Goulard — A 52-year-old European lawmaker who speaks four languages, Goulard is a respected operator in Brussels.

Jean Pisani-Ferry — A well-known economist who founded the influential Bruegel thinktank in Brussels, he resigned from the French government’s in-house thinktank France Stratégie in 2016 to join Macron and help develop his economic programme.

Gerard Collomb — A popular senator and mayor of Lyon, was one of Macron’s first vocal supporters among leading Socialists. He is part of the centrist tendency of the Socialist party.

Jean-Paul Delevoye — A 70-year-old who served as minister for government reform under conservative president Jacques Chirac, Delevoye is in charge of selecting Macron’s candidates for parliamentary elections in June.

Christophe Castaner — The Socialist lawmaker, who briefly worked as a legal adviser for the bank BNP Paribas, is one of Macron’s main message-bearers on morning radio shows and TV channels.

Benjamin Griveaux — As Macron’s official spokesman, he uses an astute political sense and sharp wit to good effect in the media.

François Bayrou — Long the face of centrism in France, with three failed runs for the presidency to his name, Bayrou, 65, was pondering whether to make a fourth run when he was overtaken by Macron’s dizzy rise.

Ismael Emelien — Macron’s top political strategist, only 29, was going to found a start-up with Macron in 2014, until the future president was named economy minister by Hollande.

Alexis Kohler — Macron’s former chief-of-staff at the Economy Ministry, a potential chief-of-staff.

Clément Beaune — Became Macron’s Europe adviser when Macron was economy minister, and has continued in the role since Macron quit, shadowing him during meetings with Theresa May and Angela Merkel this year.